Livingston County is named for Edward Livingston, who was a prominent American jurist and statesman who was influential in the drafting of the Louisiana Civil Code of 1825.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Grundy County
E – Linn County and Chariton County
S – Carroll County
W – Caldwell County and Daviess County
Created: January 6, 1837
County Seat:
Chillicothe 1837 – present
County Courthouse – Chillicothe
Location: 700 Webster Street / North Washington Street
Built: 1913 – 1914
Style: Classical Revival
Architect: R Warren Roberts and George Saase
Contractor: L W Dumas Jr. Construction Company of Columbia
Description: The building faces west and is a three story gray colored Bedford stone, steel and concrete structure. The rectangular shaped building is located on landscaped grounds of the Public Square in the center of Chillicothe. The building is 80 feet by 100 feet. Along each side are five columns rising from the second story to the top of the third story. Each entrance has four columns supporting a small balcony on the second story. The first story has horizontal stone work. There is a balustrade around the roof line with clocks on each side. In the interior, the wood trim is red oak. The woodwork is finished in a natural color with three coats of varnish, with the varnish being rubbed to a flat finish with pumice stone and oil. The walls of the corridors and lobbies are wainscoted with marble and the floors of the vestibule, corridors and lobbies of the first, second and third stories are covered by ceramic title. At the center of the building is a light well extending up to the second story. The main dual stairway is made of ornamental iron and marble and ascends to the third story. The building contains 44 independent rooms. The County Circuit Court courtroom is located on the north side of the third story and is 71 feet wide by 53 feet deep with the seats being circular. There is a small courtroom on the east side of the second story. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 43rd Judicial Circuit.
Note: The exterior of the courthouse building was faced throughout with oolitic limestone from the quarries of the Consolidated Stone Company of Bedford, Indiana. The interior walls and the outside walls back of the stone are made of hard burned vitrified building brick, manufactured by the Moberly Paving Brick Company, of Moberly.
See: The architect, R Warren Roberts also designed the courthouse in Ray County.
See: The 43rd Judicial Circuit includes Caldwell County, Clinton County, Daviess County and DeKalb County.
History: The county was created in 1837 and Chillicothe was selected as the county seat. The first courthouse was an 18 foot square log structure built at a cost of $50. The second courthouse was a two story brick structure built by Moses Burton on the public square in 1840 to 1841 at a cost of $5,600. In 1864, the building was condemned as unsafe. The county occupied different buildings and the public square remained empty. The third and present courthouse was constructed in 1913 to 1914 at a cost of $100,000.
County Courthouse – Chillicothe
Photos taken 2009 and 2026
Images 11